


Coaxed Not Forced

by Kalimdor



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Elves purr do not @ me, Eventual Fluff, F/F, Kinda, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:55:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22915102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalimdor/pseuds/Kalimdor
Summary: “World peace must be coaxed not forced.” Gelbin Mekkatorque had announced to the highly skeptical masses. “For if you were to rush such a romance you may find that your prejudices would push you apart before you even gave them a chance- this app requires both parties to simply talk, to get to know one another while carefully omitting anything that might tip off political standings or faction allegiances. That way our two theoretical lovers will have found ample common ground to hopefully surpass any blind hatred the two might have harboured before. Only then will the device allow you to meet.”Azeroth has a dating app. A device, the likes that nobody has ever seen before, and one that the residents of Mechagon are convinced will pave the way to world peace. A highly skeptical Jaina picks up a tablet to prove a point, only to end up matched to a faceless soulmate, one who's dark and sarcastic humor along with her poetic words has her quickly falling in love.A crackfic that ended up way angstier and sweeter than I could have ever imagined.
Relationships: Jaina Proudmoore/Sylvanas Windrunner
Comments: 106
Kudos: 527





	1. Prove Me Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> If Jaina lived in the modern world she would be TERRIBLE with technology. Just saying.

With Mechagon newly emerging to the masses of Azeroth, it’s pint-sized cyborg citizens seemed intent on proving to the world what they truly had to offer. Their technological prowess was already a sight to behold, their ingenuity in cooking up the most elaborate of inventions, but even this seemed rather… far fetched. 

Jaina scoffed to herself.

A dating app they called it, a painstaking collaboration of both arcane and technological design. This… device was supposed to read your thoughts, your memories, the very essence of your _lifeforce_ and return to you the perfect match. A match that would remain anonymous until it deemed you both ready to finally rest eyes on one another.

“World peace must be coaxed not forced.” Gelbin Mekkatorque had announced to the highly skeptical masses. “For if you were to rush such a romance you may find that your prejudices would push you apart before you even gave them a chance- this app requires both parties to simply _talk_ , to get to know one another while carefully omitting anything that might tip off political standings or faction allegiances. That way our two theoretical lovers will have found ample common ground to hopefully surpass any blind hatred the two might have harboured before. Only then will the device allow you to meet.” 

“You mean to say…” she’d remembered Genn’s skeptical grumble, “that you wish to invoke peace on Azeroth by making us… fall in love with each other?” 

“Precisely! Though from the rather distasteful scowl on your face I imagine that’s a pretty far-fetched concept for the likes of you.” 

That had earned a chuckle amongst the masses as people cautiously filed in line to purchase this newfangled tech. 

Jaina turned away with a wry smile, ready to head back to work before she felt a hand gently catch her forearm. 

“Not going to even give it a try, Auntie?” Anduin smirked, and Jaina rolled her eyes. 

“I admire his salesman tactics yet it’s so obviously a gimmick.” She shrugged and shouldered her staff. “But if it gives people a chance to entertain themselves on such a baseless holiday, then let them have their fun.” 

“Hm…” Anduin looked deep in thought. “I would have thought someone like you would have least taken one, if not to study its inner workings. The Jaina _I_ knew would be champing at the bit to be able to expose the truth and ruin it for the rest of us. What happened?”

“What happened, _your majesty,_ is that I’m tired and in no mood to play around with some silly little matchmaking toy when I have a desk full of paperwork to attend to…” Jaina shoved his shoulder playfully to soothe the sting of her words though annoyingly the young King did not look so convinced. If anything he was wearing an irritatingly amused smirk on his face that she did not like one bit.

“If I didn’t know any better, Auntie… I’d say that you were scared.” 

“Scared?” Jaina blustered, folding her arms. 

“You already know it works, don’t you.” His gaze narrowed. 

“It obviously doesn’t.” 

“Oh but it does, doesn’t it Auntie, you’re just too scared to pick one up.” 

“I am not!” 

Anduin lifted an eyebrow, pulling an unamused expression that was worryingly similar to Varian’s. “Well if you’re so convinced then why don’t you just take one, prove me wrong. Prove that you’re not terrified that it’s going to reveal to you your _one true love.”_ The way Anduin said the last words so breathily did not help matters in the slightest.

Jaina made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat before she snatched the tablet from Anduin’s outstretched hand. Following the instructions on the display she closed her eyes, splaying her hand across the smooth screen and letting her mind go blank. A jolt of arcane coursed through her, followed by an obnoxious beeping sound. Anduin, eyes bright with curiosity leaned forward as the screen lit up in a series of flashes. The two held their breath and even Jaina couldn’t help the spark of interest as the tablet seemed to hum to life.

Before it went dead. The screen flashing once, twice and then going black. 

“Well,” Jaina said, her voice bright, yet carrying a hint of bitterness. “There we have it, no match for me. Maybe I was wrong before about it not working, I think this device knows _exactly_ what’s up.” 

“Oh come now Auntie,” Anduin whined but Jaina merely chuckled and ruffled his hair. 

“If it’s any consolation, I think it’s incredibly sweet how much you care.” She teased, grinning as he merely scowled in disappointment. 

* * *

Weeks passed and Jaina had all but forgotten about the tablet. It sat, a dead weight on her desk- useful as a paperweight, or sometimes a cool surface to rest her parchment on as she hastily scribbled out whatever notes she needed to remind her of her duties for the upcoming week. So, on a particularly rainy, dark day in Kul Tiras, she nearly jumped out of her chair when a signifying beep alerted her that the tablet was coming to life. 

“What the…” she mumbled sleepily as she pushed back a few errant strands of her hair and glared at the object in question. Another beep and she startled again. 

Words… there were words flashing across the screen. 

**Uh...hey?** It read, followed by a: **Why am I even entertaining this, like anyone would be so unfortunate as to be tied down to the likes of me. A foolish device and yet even more foolish of I to be the one wielding it.**

Jaina stared at the screen in disbelief before, with all the caution of someone who was both unfamiliar with technology, she tapped once at the screen eyes widening as the words again flashed across them. 

“Uh...hello?” She whispered back and dread seized within her chest when the phrase seemed to register from her lips and swirl onto the screen in blocky text. 

“Oh fuck it has voice recognition.” Jaina gasped out loud and to her even further consternation, those words too were then typed out onto the device. 

“No shit don’t write that… or that either. Fucking...ass...oh shit... oh you _little bastard_ just stop, stop writing what I’m saying right now...FUCK.” Jaina dropped the tablet like it had burned her, and her heart sank when those words were translated on screen and then faded away as though whispered to the cosmos. 

Silence. 

Well whatever or whoever had tried to initiate contact would be well and truly scared away by now thanks to her inability to curb her mouth.

What she didn’t expect was an image to appear. A face... well a simplistic version of one and it was… laughing. A symbol of a laughing face… 

Embarrassed, Jaina grabbed the tablet again and leant closer. “Oh so you’re laughing at me now huh? Like your initial line was any better…” Jaina scowled. 

The screen flashed almost apologetically. 

**I am sorry, your response simply caught me off guard- such language! But let me try again: “Good morning… or afternoon, or evening I suppose depending on where on this cursed planet you reside. I would like to congratulate you on being unfortunate enough to have matched with me, how is your day so far?”**

Jaina couldn’t help the slight chuckle in response before she rolled her eyes. How disappointing that she’d fallen into this trap- for all she knew it could be talking to some cursed interface, an artificial intelligence designed to write exactly what she wanted to hear. 

So screw it, may as well be truthful in that case. 

“I’ve had better days to be honest.”

For a moment Jaina thought she wasn’t going to get a response before the tablet flashed again. 

**Same.**

It was a simple, one word answer, but in that moment Jaina couldn’t help the soft smile appear on her face as she gently placed the tablet down on the desk, hand idly tracing the side of the screen. 

“Wanna talk about it?” 

An even longer pause and Jaina opened her mouth to utter assurances, that they didn’t have to do this and maybe it was best that she went to sleep before the words almost gingerly appeared on the screen. 

**Sure, why not.**

* * *

It had been a few weeks now and Jaina couldn’t help but stifle the yawn as she leant idly against her hand. 

Fishing rights, fishing rights… Tidemother’s arse they were still harvesting lumps of that damned kraken carcass over at Carver’s Harbour and they were stressing about blasted fishing rights. 

“To hell with fishing rights!” Jaina grumbled aloud. “What about Lord Admiral’s rights, the right to be left alone. It’s about time they both grew a damn braincell between them and figured it out for themselves without having to pester their way up the ranks.” 

Her tablet beeped.

Jaina’s mood instantly brightened. 

**Hello.**

“Well, hello yourself! Finally I have a distraction, how do you fare on this fine evening, or afternoon I suppose in your case?” 

A lot of information they shared came out as redacted for the other, clearly a lot they had to say would provide easy information that allowed one to locate another before their prior meeting time and it was frustrating to say so the least. Still, so far Jaina worked out they at least resided somewhere in Kalimdor based off of timezones. 

**Is it afternoon already? I haven’t even looked out a window to check.**

“Well I assume so, unless you’ve moved location since we last talked.” Jaina laughed, chair creaking as she leant back, tablet cradled in her lap. “Don’t tell me you’ve only just woken up.”

**I would say so… if I hadn’t not yet been asleep.**

Jaina shook her head in fond disbelief. 

“You’re terrible, go to sleep! You’re going to kill yourself one day if you’re not careful!”

There seemed to be a fair amount of typing, then erasing, then typing again before the message beeped through. 

**Who’s to say I already haven’t!**

Jaina chuckled again and ran her nails across the cool screen, tapping against the glass idly. 

“I have so much work to do… I hate it, but a lot of people depend on me and so, as much as I enjoy chatting with you, I really need to get back to it.”

The reply was instantaneous.

**Curses, now you’ve reminded me of all the work** **_I_ ** **have scheduled.**

Jaina smiled in sympathy. “Tell you what, I get my work done and you in turn have to do yours.”

A suspiciously long pause. 

**Fine. Deal.**

* * *

More months passed and Jaina again woke to the flashing of her tablet screen. 

**Rise and shine.**

“Ugh… only you can somewhat take the sting out of these hellish mornings.” Jaina grumbled. 

**Then I’m glad I can be of some use.**

“What do you have planned for tonight since you never seem to bother with sleeping?” She asked with a little yawn. 

**More work, more correspondence.**

“You never stop do you.”

**Neither do you.**

“We both deserve a holiday.” She grumbled mulishly, blinking furiously to clear the headrush from sitting up too fast. 

**Hmm that sounds lovely. Where would you propose we’d go?**

“Oh I don’t know… somewhere warm.” 

**That would be nice, I haven’t felt warm in a long time.**

“Ha, tell me about it, it’s been a particularly nasty winter!” 

**Ah so Northern Hemisphere. Same here.**

Jaina froze, her heartbeat picking up a little in excitement. 

“We’ve never been allowed to know that before have we!” She breathed softly in excitement. 

The tablet was still for a long time and she felt her smile fade a little. 

**No, we haven’t.**

“Well that’s… good isn’t it? Perhaps we are one step closer to finally meeting.”

**I… I don’t know how I feel about that.**

Jaina felt her heart sink a little and scolded herself for feeling such things over something as trivial as a series of texts. 

“Feel about what.” She asked, already knowing the answer.

**Meeting you.**

“Well at this rate it’s highly unlikely we will even get to that point at the rate we are finding things out about one another.” She tried to keep cheerful but the slight disappointment she felt stung more than she would like. 

**It’s not that I don’t… want to, it’s more that I’m scared.**

“Scared of what?”

**That you’ll not like what you see.**

“That’s a silly worry.” Jaina stated confidently. “You’re honestly wonderful, you’re hilariously funny, with the darkest yet most outrageously hilarious humor I’ve had the privilege of being exposed to. And to top it off you’re an amazing listener- insightful, caring… deeply intelligent. What I see I think will mean very little.” 

**That’s… nice of you to say. Though I still think you’d change your mind.**

“Well… you’ll never know unless you’re brave enough to find out.” 

**Insightful words, but bold of you to assume I’m brave.**

“I suppose it doesn’t matter anyway.” Jaina sighed. “At this rate I’ll be long since dead before this damned device ever allows us to meet.”

**Trust me… I’m already there.**

Jaina snorted softly before lovingly placing the tablet back on her pillow. “Well work calls, will I… get to speak to you later?”

**Of course. Take care.**

But then there were weeks of silence and Jaina grew frustrated, then anxious, then downright scared. 

“Something has happened to you, hasn’t it.” She whispered in the dark as she settled down for yet another disappointing night, fingers tracing the empty black screen. 

At 4:00 AM the flashing woke her up. 

**I’m sorry if this wakes you I… I just needed someone to talk to.**

“Wha-- hey...hey! You’re…you’re back! Are you…” Jaina swore as she hit her hand fumbling for the lamp. “Are you alright?” 

**I’m fine.**

“No, no you’re not. You’ve been silent for ages- I was worried. What happened?”

**You were… worried about me?**

“Of course I was!” Jaina snapped before taking a deep breath to calm herself. Tides she was yelling at a tablet of all things. “You’ve never left it this long without a word, I honestly…” she swallowed painfully. “I feared the worst.” 

**It takes a lot to get rid of me, Little Star.**

Jaina swallowed at the nickname her mysterious friend had started to use. It had come from them both venting frustrations at knowing so little about one another before she’d joked that at least they had the stars to look up to in common. Then they’d spent hours talking about the constellations and each name they’d had for them. Though speaking of stars...a wild thought suddenly came to her. 

“The stars.”

**Yes, what about them?**

Realization dawned on her. “You’re an elf!” 

**I...uh in theory, yes?**

A triumphant smile lit up her face before it faded to a frown of puzzlement.

“What do you mean _in theory?”_

Whether they didn’t want to answer or were simply unable to, Jaina took the hint when the screen remained blank. 

**How did you find out?** The text eventually flashed and Jaina’s grin returned.

“The stars! You told me the constellation in the north was the _Nightsaber._ Only in elven culture is it referred to as that.” 

**Ah. I’m ashamed that it didn't even cross my mind. So by using that process of thought… you are… you are human?**

“Yes.” Jaina breathed. 

An extremely long beat of silence.

“Hello?” Jaina ventured, and she frowned when she got no answer. “Hello?” 

**I...I have to go. Don’t try to contact me.**

“Wait, what? No!” Jaina hissed but already the tablet had gone dead. 

* * *

A few days later and Jaina was jolted from her light dozing by the incessant beeping from the tablet. 

**I’m sorry. I had to spend some time processing that.**

Jaina scowled and pushed it aside. To hell with her ‘companion.’ She’d left without a word after discovering her species and frankly it was rather insulting. 

**Please, I feel better now I’ve thought it over and I really need to ‘hear’ from you. Even if it’s to yell at me for being so short sighted. I just… it scared me that’s all. I haven’t had many… pleasant interactions with your kind and so my first instinct was to flee.**

**Please.**

Jaina glared at the screen, remaining silent. 

**Little Star.**

...

**I’m sorry.**

Jaina huffed and rolled over to snatch the tablet up. “What do you want,” she snapped.

**I… I’m apologizing. Hearing that you were human threw me, it took a few days for logical thought to catch up. You’re you, I don’t care what species you are- nothing can take away how I feel about you. I just hope in my foolishness I haven’t lost the only good thing that’s happened to me.**

“That hurt, you know- leaving me like that.” 

**I know, I wish I could convey the shame I feel right now. I can only say just how sorry I am.  
**

“I’m sorry too,” Jaina sighed, the vestiges of her anger falling away. 

**What do you have to apologize for?**

“I’m sorry for whatever events drove you to feel that way.” 

**You are too kind to me sometimes. Much more than I deserve.**

“You deserve that and more.” 

**No, I don’t.**

“Stop that,” Jaina snapped. “Yes, you do.” 

**I was worried when you did not answer.**

“Well… you didn’t exactly make me feel inclined to after that fiasco.” Jaina closed her eyes in frustration, “but no, I’m not angry at you anymore, so let's move on from that.” 

**I… I have been... so lonely, Little Star. More lonely than I thought possible. Those days without talking to you only further highlighted that fact.**

“I’m lonely too.” Jaina sighed softly, “the work I do, it leaves little room for social contact. Having you has been my only solace this past year. I…” she swallowed, knowing it was a touchy subject, “I wish I could meet you, for real, to finally see the person who I’ve been slowly and steadily falling for.”

She was expecting the usual deflective joke, or at least a change in subject- but the words that flashed across her screen caused her chest to constrict.

**It’s what I’ve been wishing for too, Little Star. I’ve been… dreaming- of how it feels to hold you in my arms, of what your laugh might sound like… of the softness of your lips upon mine. I… I’ve had so many dreams that they’ve threatened to consume me. I fear this has not eased my longing for companionship but only made it worse, dangled it in front of me like scraps in front of a starving hound- showing me desires beyond my reach. And it’s driving me mad, mad with want, for a faceless woman behind a screen. Are you even real or are you just some formless entity hidden within the endless streams of spellweave and code, taunting me with what I can never have.**

“No…” Jaina blurted. “I’m very much real… so damn real and I… oh Tides if only I could…”

**Tides. That’s a Kul Tiran saying is it not?**

“I…” Jaina heart leapt in her throat. “Yes! Yes it is!”

**Well… that certainly narrows things down doesn’t it.**

“Yes it does!” Jaina laughed in disbelief, clutching the tablet against her chest as though cradling a lover. “Yes it fucking does.” 

* * *

“I have a question.” Jaina groaned and stretched out on the grass. Spring was giving away to Summer and the few days of cloudless respite Kul Tiras had to offer were truly stunning. 

**Shoot.** She fought back a grin. Somehow those stiff formal words, broken up by poetic declarations of love had gradually become more relaxed, more friendly. As though her funny little companion was slowly getting accustomed to dealing with casual interaction. 

“How did you guess I was a woman?” 

**Oh that was easy, the way you talk, the things you say. And the fact that no man would ever be an appropriate match for me.**

“How can you be so sure?” Jaina chuckled. 

**I was sure the moment I found myself staring less at the noblemen in the courts and more at their wives.**

She threw her head back and outwardly laughed at that. 

“I wonder what you’ll think when you see me. I heard long, elegant ears were deemed attractive in elven culture. I can’t say mine are very impressive.”

**That’s foolish. I would also say that the mighty tusks on an orc look rather attractive, yet I would be rather appalled to see them on a full blooded elf. You can find a feature to be pleasing on one, yet have no desire to see it on another.**

“I suppose so.” 

**Besides, you need not be the one worrying about my reaction to you. You will be much more concerned when you finally realize just what you’ve so foolishly gotten yourself into.**

“You’re still undecided… aren’t you.” Jaina felt her smile fade a little. 

**No… not anymore. It took me a long time to find the courage- but when the time comes, to see you, I won’t deny you your visit.**

“You make it sound like a death sentence.” Jaina sighed.

**It feels like one. Sometimes I wish I had the strength to beg you to stay away, to maintain this relationship as merely one of words... but I can’t help but crave to see you, to drink in your voice, your face, your scent - even if it's just once as you scream at me to go away.**

Tides the words this woman could use to send her heart hammering a frenzy in her chest.

“That would never happen.” Jaina declared, boldly.

**I’ll believe it when I see it.**

* * *

  
  


**I know who you are.**

Jaina paused… mid writing out her speech for the Winter Veil ball. All at once her mouth went dry both in fear and anticipation.

“That sounds rather… ominous.” She eventually uttered, still struggling to calm herself as trembling fingers touched the screen. 

**I’m sorry. The last thing I want to do is frighten you. Though, knowing now, I don’t think I could scare you even if I tried. If anything, it is** **_I_ ** **who is afraid.**

“So who am I then?” Jaina’s heart picked up pace, her palms growing sweaty at the thought that she was at such a disadvantage. Oh but she was also excited… so damn excited. 

**When I learned you were from Kul Tiras all those months ago, your name was the first that sprang to mind- as it should. I then scoffed and berated myself for jumping to conclusions, or even thinking I was worthy of someone so...influential. But the work that you do… the way that you act. I soon learned that it couldn’t be anyone else** **_but_ ** **you.**

“Does my... fame upset you?” Jaina sighed softly, lips pursing into an uneasy line. 

**A little, mostly because of the scrutiny any interaction we have will be under.**

“I’m sorry, if you still wish to pursue a relationship with me- that will always be… a part of it.” Jaina looked down forlornly, hating the words even as she uttered them. “I understand if that’s too much, I wouldn’t hold it against you if you decided to-”

**No.**

“I...would you even still-”

**Open the window.**

Jaina’s heart leapt in her throat. “Oh _Tides_ , you’re here.” 

Rising on shaky legs, she stumbled to the window, hating that the fringes of her mind were already preparing a defensive spell should she come to harm. 

But she wasn’t in any danger was she? The person she’d been talking to nearly every day for the last two years- the faceless entity she’d fallen in love with without even realizing. A couple of fumbled attempts and Jaina slowly unlatched the window, swinging it open and gasping slightly as the cool air hit her flushed face. 

But it wasn’t just a cool breeze, there was a chill that seemed… deeper than the wintery climate alone, the prickle of her skin in response to a dark magic permeating the room. Even the candles seemed to dim a little and the shadows themselves grew longer.

Jaina’s mouth went dry. 

“It’s _you,_ isn’t it? _”_

Behind her, the scrape of a sabaton against the flagstone floor. No breath at the back of her neck, just an unholy presence to indicate Jaina was most certainly not alone. 

In what felt like an eternity, she plucked up the courage to turn around. Perhaps this was all some cruel joke, a dream her twisted subconscious had conjured and she’d soon mercifully wake up, panting and tangled in her bedsheets. 

But the dream did not end, and she was greeted with fiery red eyes that glared back at her, burning with such an intensity that felt as though her soul was stripped bare. 

Sylvanas Windrunner stepped forward, tablet in hand. “Surprise?” 

The hauntingly familiar echo of her voice jolted Jaina into action. 

“Fuck!” Within seconds an arcane barrier was up and Jaina was against the wall, eyes wide, teeth bared and shaking like a leaf. 

“Jaina…”

“It’s you!” 

“Yes… please keep your voice down.” 

“It’s… _you.”_

Sylvanas closed her eyes in frustration. “Yes.” 

"I..." Jaina fumbled for her own tablet and glared at it in disbelief when the words ‘match found’ flitted across her screen repeatedly. 

“This has got to be some kind of mistake.” 

Sylvanas’s ears flattened and her jaw tightened. “You’d think.” 

Jaina’s world swayed and she had to steady herself against the wall. 

“Will you call for security?” The Banshee looked ready to flee and Jaina frowned when she wondered why that thought panicked her so.

“No! I… just give me a moment.” 

Sylvanas relaxed and nodded. “Of course.” 

“All this time.” Jaina eventually uttered, slowly uncurling from the wall. “All those messages, those poems, those late night talks… I stripped my soul bare for you.”

“I know.”

“I fell in _love_ with you.”

Red eyes closed as if in pain. “I know.”

“What does this…” Jaina swallowed and tried again. “What does this mean?”

“I…” Sylvanas went to step forward before thinking better and dropping her arms to her side in defeat. “I don’t know.” 

“Sylvanas.” All at once Jaina’s face morphed into one of bitter contempt, angry tears springing to her eyes as all her hopes and dreams of some romantic union seemed to spill away. Surely the Warchief must be laughing at all this… she’d never felt so exposed and embarrassed in her life.

Foolish. So fucking foolish. 

“Go.” Jaina muttered.

Sylvanas straightened, lips parting with a pained expression on her face.

“Jaina-”

“Just _go.”_ Jaina shut her eyes, feeling the tears spill over and trail down her cheeks. Something hit the ground and by the time she’d furiously blinked them away, the Banshee Queen was gone. 

Still feeling queasy and unsteady on her legs, Jaina went to close the window. Her foot kicked something across the ground and she startled, bending to pick the unfamiliar object up. 

Roses. Sylvanas had dropped a bouquet of roses. 

Jaina swallowed, feeling her throat constrict. This had to be a trick… surely. 

Sylvanas had been in her office. In her _room._ Yet she was no worse off for it. Sylvanas had written her poems, she had left _flowers._

That sick feeling intensified and it didn’t take long before Jaina identified it as guilt.


	2. Maybe I'm the Monster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really did not expect such an amazing response, you guys are really amazing!
> 
> I hope this chapter even somewhat lives up to its expectation!

_Two years ago._

Nathanos watched two of his rangers spar and couldn’t help but pause from his fletching to admire them from afar as they danced around each other in a duet they’d been working at for centuries. Their arms were bare, their protection minimal, but their blades still wickedly sharp, clashing off one another in a series of sparks as each deadly attack was parried in the nick of time. Vorrel spat out a Thalassian curse as Alina ducked under the sweeping arc of her knife and threw an elbow into her side. The Ranger Lord shook his head and tutted, she never seemed to learn from that mistake. 

Oh but he was proud at how swiftly she recovered, rolling with the sudden shift in gravity and using the momentum to take Alina with her. 

It was a good time for the Forsaken. 

Perhaps ‘good’ was a vastly overstated word for what they were going through, but it was a far cry from the dismal predicament they as a people had been in before. 

Ok, Nathanos relented, it was a _better_ time for the Forsaken. 

Things were somewhat stable, safe and Nathanos found he could let out an empty sigh of relief. For the first time since Undercity fell, it felt as though they truly had a home. Here in the empty cavernous halls beneath Orgrimmar, where Garrosh had once housed his most heinous of creations, the Forsaken had started to make a place for themselves. 

At the moment it was mostly training grounds and storage, but slowly people were starting to trickle in. Leatherworkers, armorers, hell even that damned cockroach vendor had upgraded his business to one of selling scorpions that he tirelessly picked out of the sand in Durotar every morning. Whoever was buying them was beyond Nathanos’s knowledge but it was nice to see some level of normality again- well Forsaken levels of normality at least. 

The rangers were starting to joke around again, that was less normal but no less welcome; Anya and Kalira seemed to have picked up their regular routine they had in life of pranking one another and Cyndia had started to sketch once more, a hobby she hadn’t entertained since her brutal induction into undeath. Change, Nathanos surmised, was not always a bad thing- people seemed to be happier. 

Well, and his gaze shifted to his left. All except one. 

Sylvanas Windrunner was the reason they were all here right now and not charred remains buried in the ground, torched and pursued to extinction by those who denied their right to exist, by those who had no other reason than simply wanting them gone. 

She’d made a home for them, when the Alliance had hunted them across Lordaeron. She’d swallowed her pride and swore loyalty to the Horde, just to keep her people safe. And when all had seemed lost within the Horde itself she’d stepped from the shadows and became it’s damned Warchief. She had a place of power here now, amongst this city of iron and dirt. Undercity had fallen and she’d done it again, opened up these halls, greeting her people with the familiarity of dimly lit caverns and the comforting coolness of the underground. Given them yet another place to call home. 

But where was home for her? 

Not here. 

Nathanos watched his Dark Lady, he always did- because he loved her. Not in the simpering, romantic way many of the living teased him of, but the kind of unrelenting, irrevocable love one would have for family, for a _sister._ Though he supposed in Sylvanas’s case that might not be the best comparison to make. 

Still, Nathanos watched her, how she’d scour the hallways, arms behind her back- looking at home here amongst the clashing of training weapons and the thunk of arrows embedding themselves in targets. But then she’d retreat, always at the fringes of conversation, always a little way from the pack, and sometimes her gaze would grow distant and sad, as though she was here with them in body but her spirit had flown, miles across the ocean to the shimmering golden trees and the sun-kissed fields of Quel’Thalas. 

And those moments were only getting worse, that solemn empty gaze lingering longer and longer until he found he’d had to sometimes step in to ground her back to reality. 

She was depressed, desperately so, and there was nothing he would ever be able to do to change that.

But perhaps somebody _else_ could. 

Nathanos sighed and placed aside his arrows and binding twine, standing up with a grunt that wasn’t really necessary and striding over in her direction. Maybe it was foolish what he was about to do, borderline suicidal, but to the Void with it- he’d died once already, no use in stressing about it a second time. 

“My Lady.” He bowed, voice stiff and formal and Sylvanas glanced at him with an amused smirk. 

“Nathanos.” She responded in equal fashion, bowing back in an exaggerated move yet still somehow managing to make it look graceful. She teased him relentlessly for the human mannerisms he just couldn’t shake after all these years, but he already knew it couldn’t be helped- he’d always treat her like a lady because well… that was what she was. 

“The rangers are doing well, clocking in their hours dutifully with no protest, though I have noticed that Anya has seemed to have taken to answering back a lot these days.” 

“Hm.” An amused ear flick. “They do all seem to have gotten rather… headstrong as of recent.”

Nathanos had to look away to hide his own smirk. “It’s that damned Gnomish invention people have been smuggling in, a few seemed to have found matches they are rather excited about.” 

Sylvanas let out a humorless chuckle. “Oh yes, that strange tablet. Seems to have put my Horde into a frenzy- especially amongst the Orcish population. I would never have put Elrigg down as a romantic, yet here we are.” 

“And what about you, ever cared to entertain the idea?” Nathanos winced even as the words left his lips. 

The glare Sylvanas gave him was borderline menacing. “No, I have no time for idle-”

“-games yes I know.” Nathanos nervously chuckled, resisting the urge to wipe at his brow even though he knew he couldn’t sweat. “But, you know, maybe for once- this might not be one.” 

Sylvanas was silent but from the bored expression on her face it was clear she wasn’t convinced. Sensing it was now or never, Nathanos reached into his pack, bringing out the sleek design of the tablet and wordlessly placing it next to her, knowing she wouldn’t have taken it if he’d outright handed it over. 

“Hey,” Nathanos shrugged. “It’s only a piece of harmless tech, what’s the worst that could happen?” 

“Everything.” Sylvanas muttered, and continued to make a point of ignoring the tablet beside her, choosing instead to prop her chin on her hand and glare at the two Forsaken Dreadguard’s wrestling below. “Be Careful you don’t overstep, Nathanos” she drawled, never taking her eyes off the fight. 

“Apologies, my lady.” Nathanos bowed again and backed off, though he didn’t miss the traitorous sideways flicker of the Banshee’s gaze as she subtly checked to see if he’d taken it with him. “Until we meet again.” 

The Ranger Lord shouldered his pack and made his way back to his arrows and fletching gear, scowling when Alina mimicked the bow he’d given Sylvanas earlier as she passed him. “Shadows guide me,” he muttered to himself, “I hope I’ve done the right thing.” 

* * *

  
  


There was a cacophony of panicked squawks as a flock of starlings burst from the treetops, followed by the smoky mass of an equally panicked banshee as she shot past them, climbing higher and higher into the air, desperate to do something, _anything,_ to escape the heartbreak, the _humiliation_ of what had just occurred. 

She continued to ascend, past the low lying cumulus clouds that lazily drifted below, pale and pristine in the moonlight. Past the jagged peaks of the mountains that stretched endlessly into the distance. The moon was all that lay ahead of her, set amongst a purplish turquoise backdrop as the aurora borealis waxed and waned. The sky was so clear she could see the whole arm of the galaxy arcing overhead. The universe greeted her like an old friend and foolishly she leapt to meet it. 

But of course, it was only a matter of time before she looked down. 

The mountains below blurred and shifted into focus, their peaks wickedly sharp and menacing. The gentle light of the moon seemed to shrink away as the edges of her vision darkened. If she’d had a heartbeat it would have been roaring in her ears as the lost sensation of her stomach lurching had her hurtling back toward the ground in a panicked frenzy, so fast that whole strips of her shadowy mass seemed to tear away with the wind. 

Past the clouds, past the treetops until she hit the ground, tearing up rocks and leaves and tree roots as clawed hands dug huge rivets in the frozen dirt. 

Only when she was certain she was safely grounded did Sylvanas throw back her head and scream. 

The icy ground in front of her tore up, the trees groaned as their bare, skeletal branches trembled from the force and a swirl of frost-etched leaves blanketed the scene of utter grief as Sylvanas curled in on herself. Until her forehead kissed the dirt, teeth bared in a permanent snarl as she panted sharply in a bitter imitation of sobs where her blasted corpse of a body struggled to react to the grief. 

Foolish, weak child. What had she been _thinking?_

_Stupid, stupid, stupid._

And she couldn’t even find respite up in the cool night air, couldn’t sail effortlessly above the clouds into the gentle embrace of the moonlight because she was afraid of fucking heights. 

To think they called her Warchief. This pathetic version of a once mighty living General that now scrabbled and knelt sobbing in the dirt because a small, woefully naive part of her had thought her still worthy of love. 

Those stilted, choking tearless sobs turned to cruel mocking laughter as she turned her face to the side, gazing up at the night sky through the gaps in the thicket of twisted branches above. 

“Silly girl,” Sylvanas cackled aloud. “What did you even expect? Crawling into the room of an _enemy_ like some malevolent spirit. Did you _really_ think she’d run into your arms? Did you expect to be able to _hold_ her, feel her warmth and her heartbeat against your chest?” Those laughs trailed off into a low, bitter growl. “You foolishly allowed yourself to dream to the point you forgot your own reality.” 

_An emotional Warchief is a weak Warchief._

And there she lay, repeating the mantra in her head until the moon dipped well below the horizon and the bleached branches of the trees turned blood red as the sun began to rise, eager to reclaim the day once more. 

Something moved deep within the forest and Sylvanas was up and on her feet within seconds, hackles raised as she dropped into a low crouch. A bear, sleepy and disturbed from its hibernation by the commotion, rose up on its hindlegs, sniffing the air. Its tufted ears flattened as it dropped with a heavy thud to all fours. Black lips pulled around yellowed canines when it sensed her unnatural presence. Sylvanas couldn’t help the bitter smirk that flitted across her face, imagining the disgusted horror on Jaina’s face if she were witness just exactly how a banshee fed. To think that stupid _device_ had thought them compatiable, and to think she of all people had _believed_ it. 

The growls got louder as the bear, disorientated and territorial, failed to sense the danger it was in. It loped toward her, powerful jaw wide open and it’s hot breath steaming in the cool morning air as it let out a bellowing roar. 

And ears pinned and fangs bared, Sylvanas rose to her full height and roared back.

* * *

_My dearest friends,_

_It is a pleasure to have you all here in celebration of this year's Winter Veil feast._

_To begin with, I’d like to thank each and everyone one of you in your efforts in staying so strong during these troubling times. We have all been through so much, be it at the front line or those battening down the hatches at home. Despite it all, you have all remained so brave and so strong. It is through your combined effort that we have secured the Alliance and set her down the path of another prosperous year._

_I am extremely grateful and proud to have each and every one of you here celebrating with me and hope that within the spirit of this holiday we can chose to celebrate all that is good in our lives, to take up the mantle of Winter Veil cheer and to begin to forgive those who may have wronged us in the past, so that we can unite together, stronger than ever before._

_Aaaand I want to be sick on my own words…_

Jaina sighed heavily and pushed aside yet another sheet of empty, meaningless drivel. She glanced at the tablet that she still couldn’t bear to throw away and was met with its sullen blank glare. 

“What are you thinking of writing for your speech Sylvanas?” She quipped to herself, tone bitter. “Congratulations each and every one of you on another blight-filled year of joyless suffering.” 

No. That wasn’t at all fair and she knew it. 

She closed her eyes and rubbed her fingers against her temples. Across from her a generous amount of roses sat in a vase. Even with plenty of water and light they were starting to droop and Jaina couldn’t bring herself to cast a preserving enchantment. No, the slightly withered flowers reflected her dismal state of affairs. 

She was being unnecessarily cruel in her thoughts about Sylvanas, but she was convinced it had to have all been a trick. The Banshee was probably laughing about this for _months,_ biding her time to reveal her hand to a lonely, naive Lord Admiral. Proving to her just how pathetic and weak she was, before disappearing, cackling into the night- a scattered armful of roses serving as a cruel reminder of how starved of romance Jaina was. 

It had to be that, surely. Because… because the alternative would only prove to her what she had been dreading all along. That it was _her_ who was the reserved, callous backward one in this partnership. That it had been _her_ that was the reasoning for the eons it took for them to finally meet. That Sylvanas wasn’t the problem in pursuing this fabled world peace she’d always dreamed about, but her own short-sighted limitations.

With a troubled, pained groan, Jaina’s head hit the desk and she couldn’t bring herself to fight against the wearied droop of her eyelids. 

======

_“My dearest friends, both old and new,_

_It is my- our great pleasure to welcome all of you, for staying stoic and strong in the face of such uncertain times. Yet I hope in this uncertainty, there is a spark of hope, a hope for change- for better times, strengthened numbers and the gateway to a world that we will be proud to gift to our children. A world that is bourne of acceptance and love, not ignorance and hatred.”_

_Jaina turned to her left and laughed._

_“You may mistake my dear partner’s scowl for one of disagreement but she’s just allergic to my words of sentiment. I can assure you, she too shares this same dream, one that, as we sit here in this hall, shoulder to shoulder and our weapons by the door, we can start to actualise. Orc and Troll, Kaldorei and Draenei... we are all children of Azeroth and we must work together to protect her.”_

_A gagging noise and Jaina rolled her eyes as the audience tittered in response, playfully shoving Sylvanas’s shoulder._

_“Do at least try to keep up pretences dear.” She murmured, still smiling toward the crowd who, despite their nervousness at both factions dining together in the same hall, found their jovial exchange to be rather amusing._

_The Warchief of the Horde raised one, whisker-like eyebrow before lifting her glass to the masses with an insufferable smirk on her face. “Please, do start eating before she launches into another sickening tirade about love and acceptance.”_

_The laughter was louder this time followed by a clatter of plates and cutlery as everyone eagerly tucked into their food-_

-“Jaina dear?” 

The Lord Admiral of Kul Tiras woke with a start, a sheet of parchment still stuck to her face as she blindly scrabbled for some semblance that she hadn’t just been currently napping at her desk. 

Too late, her mother had already gently pushed open the door, with a fond yet exasperated expression. 

“Jaina, honey. There is a bed less than five feet away from your desk, surely you could have at least attempted to get yourself horizontal before catching up on sleep.” 

“Wasn’t...sleeping…” she protested weakly only for Katherine to sigh and pluck the offending piece of paper off the desk. 

“And this ink isn’t smudged because half of it has ended up on your face.” 

Jaina scowled and viciously wiped at her right cheek with her sleeve. 

Her mother’s expression gentled as she pulled out a chair. “You haven’t been sleeping properly in days, what’s been plaguing you?” 

“I’ve been stressed.” 

Katherin’s lips pursed in thought as her eyes slowly dragged their way across the haphazard piles of crumpled sheets and dog-eared books before resting on the dead tablet in the corner. “And does _that_ have perhaps something to do with it?” 

Jaina flushed when she’d followed her mother’s gaze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She murmured softly, looking down. 

“Well it seems rather coincidental that you were smiling to yourself like some love-struck filly a mere week ago, clutching that infernal thing in your hand, only to have it discarded on your desk while you slink up here with the forlorn expression of a kicked puppy.” 

Jaina scowled as her mother gently fussed over her appearance, smoothing back errant strands of hair and attempting to wipe at the smudged ink. With her free hand she snatched up the speech Jaina had previously been working on with a scrutinizing frown. 

“What a load of bollocks.” She waved the sheet for emphasis. 

“Mother, if you’ve just come in here to insult me then please leave me be-”

“No, darling. I’ve come to help. This writing, this isn’t you.” 

“And how would you know?” Jaina snapped, face heating up, “as if you even have the faintest clue who I am.” Immediately that anger faded and the mage glanced away guiltily. “I’m sorry.” 

“No, darling.” Katherine’s voice came out in a soft sigh. “I deserve that and more, but believe me when I say I’m here to help, always, until you order me away. Now…” her tone became firmer, “tell me what happened, this person you matched with, what did he say.” 

“ _She,_ ” Jaina relented, realizing it was futile to pretend. 

“Ok, what did she say?” Katherine pressed, patiently- barely blinking at the revelation. 

“She tricked me,” Jaina sighed. “I was lead on for two years, two years thinking someone understood me, two years thinking someone _cared_ about me, only to find out this person, who I _knew_ deep down was too good to be true, was all a lie. And it worked- I feel horrible, worthless, deeply ashamed of just how _weak_ I was.” Tears formed in the younger Proudmoore’s eyes and angrily she wiped them away.

“Oh Jaina.” Katherine pulled her into a hug. “You’re not weak for wanting someone to love. These awful things she said to you, please don’t dismiss yourself or your ability to care because of it. You are worthy of the world sweetheart, and you are stronger than I could ever dare to dream. Do not let these words ever bring you down- oh and if we ever find her, I’ll shoot her myself.” 

Katherine expected at least some form of a tearful laugh from her daughter but her frown deepened when she was only met with silence. 

“Well…” Jaina swallowed. “She never actually...said anything.” 

It was Katherine’s turn to fall silent as she puzzled over those words. 

“Dearest, I’m afraid I don’t understand.” 

“There were no cruel words mother, no nefarious actions either, but if you knew who she was mother… she.” Jaina eventually gave in, grabbing the tablet and throwing it Katherine’s direction. “She was Sylvanas Windrunner. You know, _The_ Sylvanas Windrunner, Warchief of the Horde.” 

Katherine’s eyes widened, scrolling through the recent conversation history. “Well I’ll be,” she murmured to herself yet surprisingly remained calm as she read back through their last few snippets of lines before deciding she didn’t feel it was her place to further read what was starting to be some very heartbreaking exchanges of text. 

“You know,” Jaina pressed, displeased with not getting the response she was expecting. “The woman who very much wants me dead.” 

“Does she though?” Her mother’s voice had come out as quiet, more as a thought voiced out loud than anything directed at her daughter, but Jaina jumped on it like a cat. 

“What do you mean ‘does she?’” Jaina scoffed. “Mother we have been at war with the Horde since-” 

“She came to you at night, yes?” 

“I...yes.” Jaina looked thrown by the worryingly calm demeanor her mother had right now after uttering such devastating news. 

“And you were alone?” 

“Yes.” Jaina’s voice edged on frustrated when Katherine seemed to only puzzle over the tablet more. 

“So you’re telling me that a woman who wants you dead came to you in the middle of the night, snuck past our patrols, bypassed your _wards-_ which I know is no small feat, and was able to come into your room, while your guard was down, only to leave you _alive?_ ” 

“Mother she is notorious for playing games, she would have done this to make me feel uncertain, to make me feel weak.” Jaina’s teeth were bared in a grimace. 

And she did not expect in the slightest for Katherine to start laughing. 

“Mother!” 

“Oh come now Jaina, I always took you for a smart girl.” Katherine sobered and scooted her chair closer, realizing that her poor daughter didn’t need to be mocked right now. “I’ve done my research sweetheart, I have read a lot about this notorious Warchief in the history books- had plenty of intel from Shaw…” Katherine huffed out a gentle sigh. “She’s a tactician is she not? That’s what SI:7 always seems to highlight. You know, I can even memorize their logs from memory.” 

Her gaze became distant as though picturing the words in her mind as she recited them. ‘Once The Ranger General of Quel’Thalas, Sylvanas Windrunner is known for her ruthless and cutthroat tactics. She will stop at nothing to secure victory for her Horde and her people no matter the cost, both material and moral. Her ability to kill without pause or remorse is cause for the utmost concern as an enemy of the Alliance.” Katherine glanced at Jaina who seemed to have all but shrank into her chair. 

“Does that seem like the kind of person who’d spend so much time and effort on the basis of making you appear weak? No darling, to put it bluntly- it would have taken much less time and much less effort to have simply delivered a swift killing blow the moment she got you alone in your room. Why have a ‘weakened’ Lord Admiral if she could have had a dead one instead?” Jaina could only wince and look away, unable to even think of any words to offer in her defence. 

Katherine looked up to the windowsill and smiled almost wistfully. “Those are lovely roses, aren’t they? Daelin used to always try to bring me back something back from his travels. I remember he once got me this blue flower, it was gorgeous, but it attracted static in the air like no tomorrow- his men reported him cursing the entire journey home when the flowers kept shocking him everytime he went to move them or pick them up. Still, he told me it was worth it because of how carefully I displayed them in my office, how I’d smile as I looked at them or admire their beauty when they crackled before a storm. I miss those flowers…” Katherine sighed, yet offered Jaina a genuine smile. “You know, seems like an awful lot of effort to buy flowers for someone you wish to kill too, unless,” and she chuckled dryly, “you are of course, pre-planning their funeral.” 

“I’ve really fucked up, haven’t I.” Jaina mumbled quietly, misery etched across her face. 

“You have, but so did your father.” Katherine put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Did I ever tell you we nearly didn’t get married?”

“No?” Jaina’s despondent gaze was replaced with one of mild curiosity.

“Oh he had a wobble a few weeks before we were due to be betrothed. We were childhood sweethearts you see, and I think he had last minute jitters- maybe panicking that he hadn’t yet…” Katherine pulled a face, “sampled an alternative.” Jaina’s scowl of distaste matched her mothers before Katherine broke off into laughter. 

“He was on a routine trading run to the Eastern Kingdoms when he met an elf at Menethil Harbour- some pretty blonde waifish thing…” Katherine rolled her eyes and leant back in her chair. “The bane of any Kul Tiran sailor who’s been at sea for too long. He instantly regretted it of course, didn’t even try to hide his shame- he just ran, sobbing at my feet the moment his ship kissed the docks, begging for my forgiveness. I mean, you know how the story ended since you’re here-” Katherine winked at Jaina who flushed in response. “But by the Tidemother did I let him suffer. Called the wedding off, moved out from Proudmoore Keep back to my own residence, had him worm his way up in my good books for over a year before I finally cracked. He bought me a ship.” 

“He bought you a ship?” Jaina laughed, wiping at her eyes. 

“Bless him, he wanted to impress me and it was all he knew how!” The two shared another laugh, more genuine this time before Jaina leaned forward and hugged her mother, breathing in her familiar perfume and fighting back tears.

“Thank you mama.” 

“You know, Jaina.” Katherine pulled away to tuck a few strands of hair behind her daughters ear. “I can’t say I’m thrilled that this newfangled tech of yours lead you to Sylvanas of all people, but I can’t say that I’m all that surprised either. If anyone would be able to handle her, it would be the Lord Admiral of Kul Tiras, and well, no offence, but much the same could be said for you too.” 

Jaina chuckled. “I know.” 

“Oh and just so you’re aware,” Katherine smiled and handed the tablet back. “SI:7 had another snippet of information on her that might be of interest: “Fiercely protective of those she deems ‘close’ to her. We have found that the only way to strike at her is to strike at them, for she has yet to fail to appear when one is in danger.’ I would say that’s a rather desirable trait in a partner is it not? Perhaps something to fight for, perhaps... maybe even worth giving up a ship for.” Having finished her piece, Katherine sat up a little straighter and offered Jaina a jovial grin. “Now I don’t know about you dear, but I’m in the mood for something to eat, care to join me?” 

* * *

It was dark in the hold, even for Nathanos’s standards as he swallowed and shuffled uneasily on the old creaking elevator that took him up to the ‘living’ quarters above.

“This is madness.” Kalira hissed. “She’s going to rip my head off.” 

“Good, maybe then you’ll shut up for once.” Anya softly growled back. 

“Silence.” Nathanos muttered, already regretting taking the two bickering rangers with him but well… backup was good… just in case. “I would normally wait but I think _this_ in particular warrants her attention.” 

“I strongly disagree. She said emergencies only, as in Orgrimmar is under immediate attack level emergencies. I wouldn’t say this classes as anything of the sort.” 

“I’d say it’s an emergency, who knows what could be hiding in that-”

“Quiet!” Nathanos snapped, and stepped off the platform as it creaked to a halt. “Remain here, I’ll find her.” 

“Good luck.” Anya muttered in response. 

Nathanos took a few steps tentative steps forward, and braced himself when two red eyes cracked open in the dark. 

=======

“A ship.” Sylvanas was incredulous as they rounded the corner. 

“Yep.” 

“A _big_ ship.” Kalira stated unhelpfully, cursing when Anya smacked her shoulder. 

“The dockworkers had the fright of their life when this behemoth of a nautical vessel was just teleported in, no announcement, no note- nothing.” Elrigg explained as she reached him at the shoreline.

“Iron hulled, Kul Tiran design.” Baine stated, his large frame awkwardly shouldering through the gawking masses to stand next to the Warchief. “Yet surprisingly different than their usual garb, no crest, no tell-tale design from the eching at its prow. It’s like someone copied the Kul Tiran model and made it more…” he eyed, with some wariness, the gnarled twisting branches and the skull of what looked like a bear or wolf, expertly carved into the wood. The design amounted to the centerpiece of a woman at the prow, wild, snakelike hair flying in the wind and mouth stretched wide in a scream, “well, unique.” 

“It’s gorgeous.” Anya breathed.

“It’s clearly a trap.” 

“I’ll handle it from here.” Sylvanas stated loudly, the Banshee’s echo in her voice projecting for everyone to hear. “No use in the rest of you standing around like idiotic cattle when you have work to do. Back to your posts!” She lowered her voice and gestured with a gloved hand. “Nathanos, rangers. With me.” 

Baine grumbled, but chose to remain ashore, ears flicking in suspicion as he watched the Warchief and her boarding party approach the boat that sat, a menacing and hulking mass in waters that were almost too shallow for its deep hull. 

“Sweep the area, top to bottom, check for any false panelling or floors. I’ll scout the upper deck and captains quarters and we’ll rendezvous back on deck.” With a flourish of her cloak Sylvanas was up the ladder and on board the ship, already on high alert, her body misting in and out of its solid form as she struggled to tamp down on her emotions. It didn’t help that the boat was rife with the discordant crackle of residue arcane, of _Jaina’s_ arcane, to the point it felt as though the very planks of the wood were infused with it. 

A grand sweeping staircase, impressively curved from what must have been weeks of coaxing the wood to bend to its shape, the banister, sanded to the point that even Sylvanas, with her somewhat deadened nerves, could appreciate the smooth texture under her palm. Inside was even more impressive, gothic design, polished wood paneling on the walls and thick wooden planks for a floor. A generous four poster bed with a mighty oak desk opposite, decked out with a matching chair- almost fit to be a throne. A fine office for a captain indeed. Or a queen. 

So what _was_ this? An apology? A trap? 

Sylvanas couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed either way, and she hated it. She hated feeling this emotionally exposed, hated that a small stupid part of her thrummed like a heartbeat in her chest, filling her with a tenuous flicker of hope. 

She reached the desk, and barked out a surprised laugh at the hastily scribbled note laid out in front of it. 

_Why aren’t you answering my messages? You forced me to make you a ship in order to apologize._

Sylvanas almost opened her mouth to respond before she snapped it shut with a frustrated huff. _Belore_ damn her she’d thrown her tablet out, a shattered mess of twisted metal and glass discarded somewhere on the forest floor. 

“ _Anar’alah!_ Check this out!” Alina whistled as she strode in, followed by three other equally curious rangers and a muttering Nathanos who was trying his hardest to get them to stop. 

“What did I say about meeting on the deck.” Sylvanas sighed, yet there was no real bite to her words, instead feeling some sense of- _was it pride?-_ to have her rangers admire her new ship. 

_Her_ ship. A gift from the Lord Admiral herself, a gift from _Jaina._

“Hey, look it even has artwork of the _Nightsaber_ constellation above the bed.” 

_No, please. This wasn’t fair._

Sylvanas didn’t need to breathe, yet she felt winded as she rested her hands against the desk, grounding herself as her rangers bickered amongst themselves, arguing over what the abstract painting on the wall even meant. She realized with a start there was another note under the first one. 

_My love,_

_Forgive me for being forward in calling you that, yet I fear that until you order me to do so- I simply cannot stop. Ever since that fateful, awful day you entered my room, I have been wracked with guilt, wracked with a million what ifs and a fierce, all consuming longing to erase those awful words I said, to erase ever sending you away. I miss your words, your poems, the tender assurances we offered one another on a hard day. I miss you._

_I know who you are, I know what you’ve done, but how could I ever stand there and judge you when the person I see in the mirror every day is worse. And we are mirror opposites, you and I- both consumed by hatred, both afraid of what the other represents, but I think that perhaps that someone like you is my salvation and, dare I say it, perhaps I am yours. The way I acted on that day may be unforgivable, but I will never stop trying to make it right, to be someone who deserves you, and you deserve the world. So perhaps a ship to travel it is at least a start._

_Forever yours,_

_Jaina Proudmoore._

_Also just so you know, the carving at the prow of the ship… the one of the screaming lady is a siren, NOT a banshee. There is no offensive meaning behind it, although maybe by mentioning that alone I might have offended you anyway- so I apologize. It’s a Kul Tiran tradition to protect us from crashing into shores due to visions of pretty women- something I thought I was immune from until I met you._

Sylvanas snorted out loud and froze when the bickering cut off and several sets of red eyes slowly swiveled in her direction. 

“Did you just…” 

“Was that a…” 

“She laughed!” Kalira clapped a hand to her mouth, ears shooting up in alarm. 

“Rangers, contain yourselves.” Nathanos growled but even his voice wavered in disbelief. 

Sylvanas rolled her eyes at their dramatics and moved to the doorway, only to curse when Kalira brazenly sauntered over to the note and read it herself. 

“Wait, Jaina Proudmoore was your match?” She exclaimed loudly only for Alina to scoff and gesture to the very ship they were standing in, with a brow raised at just how oblivious the younger ranger was.

“Jaina Proudmoore once impaled my leg with a frostbolt.” Anya stated matter of factly and Kalira grinned.

“Oh, I like her.” 

Sylvanas winced at that, yet there seemed to be no hard feelings from the older ranger who folded her arms and regarded her Warchief with a wry smile as she leant against the wall. 

“Jaina Proudmoore once incased me in ice. I had to be hacked out by three orcs and a goblin with explosives.” Nathanos muttered surlily and Sylvanas grinned for the first time in over twenty years. 

“Ok, I love her.” 

“Hey,” Anya nudged Kalira. “Back off, that’s the Warchief’s future consort you’re talking about.” 

“Is she?” Alina, who’d been unusually silent, questioned, sobering the mood as her sharp gaze fixed on Sylvanas. 

“I don’t know.” The Warchief sighed, the smile fading from her face and was shocked to see four sets of ears wilt at her words. 

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Anya murmured quietly, eyes filled with concern. “We saw you just now, you were _smiling_ , we haven’t seen you like that, well since… ” 

“Yeah Sylv, what gives?” Kalira pressed. 

Sylvanas sighed and slowly walked back to the desk. “Our first meeting didn’t go as planned. I know I’m partially to blame for that, I cornered her in her own room, probably made her feel very overwhelmed and unsafe but it... hurt.” Sylvanas glanced down at the sheet of paper again, resisting the urge to run her fingers along Jaina’s messy scrawl of handwriting as she uttered the most sincere and vulnerable words she’d ever allowed her rangers to hear. “I’m not sure I can let myself be hurt like that again.” 

“Something tells me, after this grand gesture, that that’s never going to be the case, but you know, whatever you chose Dark Lady, we are here for you. Nathanos included.” 

The Ranger Lord appeared embarrassed but nodded his assurances. “We always will be.” 

If Sylvanas could have cried she would have done, there on that beautiful ship that rocked lazily with the tide, surrounded by people she was ashamed to admit she’d forgotten just how much they truly cared about her. 

For the first time since her undeath she felt...free. There was just one more thing she needed to do. 

“Nathanos,” she growled, her voice clipped and businesslike. “I’m going to need to borrow your tablet.” 

* * *

“Look at her. She looks like that dinghy that Derek crashed on his first trip sailing alone. You know, mast half down, sails dragging in the current and hull rapidly filling with water.” 

“Tandred, be nice.” Taelia elbowed him only for the younger Proudmoore to ignore her, cupping his hands over his mouth to get his older sister’s attention. 

“Jaina! You look pathetic!” All he got in response was a middle finger as Taelia tutted sharply at him, blushing at the thought of someone as formidable as Jaina Proudmoore being ribbed at and spoken to like any other bickering sibling. Tandred seemed to waste no time in dropping the pleasantries and acting like his big sister had never left. 

“She’s been moping for _weeks_ now. I’m half inclined to snatch that infernal tablet out of her pocket and smash it against the rocks, just so she stops obsessing.” 

“Hey, leave it Tan- that device helped me find you didn’t it?” 

“Hardly, all it did was nudge us in the right direction by screaming ‘match found’ the moment the two of us picked it up.” 

“Exactly, so give her a break hm? Not everyone has it as easy as we do.” 

“No, you’re right. I’m wondering whether I should just torch the thing and be done with it.” Jaina huffed and Tandred swore loudly when he realized she’d blinked behind them when he’d not been looking. 

“No Jaina, you can’t give up.” Taelia whined only for the Lord Admiral to shake her head fondly. 

“I’m falling behind on my duties. Kul Tiras needs me now more than ever- there are riots we need to temper, soldiers outright refusing to fight because they are worried they will accidently murder their potential love on the battlefield.” Jaina chuckled bitterly. “What a strange world we live in.” 

“I think it’s exciting, I mean it’s uncertain for sure but within that uncertainty there’s hope right?” Taelia frowned at the sharp intake of Jaina’s breath before she seemed to sigh and look away. 

“Perhaps I was wrong.” Jaina felt her lower lip tremble, “perhaps it was just too little too late.” 

Her device beeped. Tandred had never seen his sister move faster in her life, scrabbling for the tablet and scanning it with a fevered expression in her eyes before grumbling as she blinked away to for some privacy.

**Nice boat.**

“Sylvanas! I…” Jaina coughed to clear her throat and composed herself. “You… you like it?” 

**Indeed, it’s missing something though.**

Jaina’s sobered a little as she glanced at the screen nervously. “What?” 

**I wanted the flying edition.**

Relief flooded through Jaina in such magnitude that she couldn’t help but throw back her head and laugh. 

“I’m afraid,” she uttered between laughter, “If you want it to fly it will have to come with an insufferable, ignorant, bull headed mage.” 

There was a long pause and Jaina waited, heart in her throat for a response that terrified her more than when she’d faced down an entire army of elite naga. 

**Only if said mage can put up with an equally insufferable, cynical, pretentious banshee.**

“I think she can do that.” 

**Well then, permission granted.**

“Permission... what?” 

**To come aboard. Are you a Kul Tiran or not?**

Jaina never wove a portal faster in her life.

  
  


* * *

Jaina realized it was still the small hours of the morning in Kalimdor when stepped from the portal, the sun had yet to rise though already the sky was turning orange, the pinkish clouds lazily drifting overhead. The gentle slap of the waves against the deck of the ship and the creaking of the rigging was the only sound she could hear, yet it was familiar enough to her to bring some semblance of comfort even as her heart pounded a disjointed rhythm against her ribs. 

The portal faded and Jaina struggled to maintain her breathing. 

Something moved to her right and it took everything within Jaina to not react defensively, instead keeping her arms passively at her sides, her stance open and trusting. 

Sylvanas Windrunner paused for a moment when she saw her, ears alert and pricked and one leg lifted mid stride, like a stag caught in a magelight. The red glow of the sunrise cast her features into a pretty purplish hue, strands of silver hair blowing across her face from the gentle breeze, before she absently pushed them back, eyes blazing a burnt-orange color as they reflected the early morning light. 

Tidemother, she was beautiful. 

After that initial pause, the Warchief wasted no time in striding decisively toward her and impossibly Jaina’s pulse beat louder. 

“Sylvanas,” her voice came out in a rush of breath. “I’m so s-”

She’d tried to finish her sentence, but the trembling hands cradling her face and soft, cool lips against hers were suddenly making it very hard to talk. 

So Jaina forgot whatever apology was on her lips and simply kissed back instead. 

  
  


* * *

“I wish we really could just sail away,” Jaina breathed, “leave all this behind- forget these petty politics and this bitter war and travel the world, just you and me.” She shifted against the gentle, yet secure hold she was currently cradled in and leant her head back against Sylvanas’s bare chest so she could get a better look at her face.

“Wouldn’t that be ideal.” Lips pressed against her temple. “Though I don’t think your dear Little Lion would think too highly of that.” 

“Oh, he can take care of himself.” 

“If you say so.” 

“He can!” Jaina shifted further to glare at the satisfied smirk Sylvanas had on her face. But she couldn’t stay mad, how could she? When the elf was smiling like this, eyes half closed and one hand lazily stroking her forearm. She looked a little drunk to be honest. Then again Jaina had been tracing the outline of one of her lax ears, something the Warchief seemed to be enjoying immensely. 

Jaina felt a little drunk herself, riding a high she wasn’t sure she’d ever felt before. One that left her feeling warm and sluggish and satisfied, nestled amongst a tangle of long, muscular limbs and smooth cool skin. 

Sylvanas looked so different without her armor and her hood, smaller, younger even. The way she closed her crimson eyes as Jaina threaded her fingers through the hair at her temple to pull her in for a kiss it was everything, the way they shifted apart only for Jaina to drape the Warchief’s head across her lap, gently scratching at her scalp. 

It was so quiet, so peaceful here with the gentle rocking of the ship and the cry of the gulls overhead that Jaina nearly startled at the low rumbling sound that started up, buzzing against her fingertips and seemingly coming from the half-slumbering banshee beneath her. 

“Tides, Sylvanas are you _purring?”_

Jaina regretted those words as soon as they left her mouth, especially when the rumbling instantly stopped at Sylvanas glanced up at her, a lost and slightly embarrassed expression on her face. 

“My apologies, _Kim’dal,_ I was unaware I was even-” 

“No, please don’t apologize, never apologize for that.” Jaina leaned over to kiss her forehead. “It’s just you’re…” a snort of laughter, “such an elf!” 

Sylvanas glowered at her, though chose to remain as she was even if she was intent on making a big show that she was not pleased with Jaina’s words. 

“You will speak of this to nobody.” 

“Of course, of course.” 

Jaina continued to gently weave her fingers through Sylvanas’s hair, trailing along a slightly tattered, yet no less elegant, ear before stroking them over bare, broad shoulders and tracing the bluish veins on her right arm. It didn’t take long before that purring started back up again, a sound Jaina was quickly falling in love with. 

“Is this weird," she asked, after a long moment of silence, "how close we have become after just one night. I feel like I know you so well, yet at the same time barely know you at all. Two years we spent, hearing about one another’s lives. Our hopes, our dreams, yet I don’t even know about something as simple as your favorite food.” 

“Ah that’s a tricky question to start with.” Sylvanas warned. “I don’t… eat how I once did when I was alive. The only way I gain sustenance is well… consuming the essence of a living animal...can’t say I have a favorite.” 

Jaina’s fingers stilled against the fallen elf’s skin, long enough that Sylvanas started to tense but the human allowed herself to take a deep breath at that revelation and continued her ministrations, lips pursed in thought. 

“Does that disgust you?” Sylvanas eventually asked, ears folded back in trepidation.

“No,” Jaina was surprised at the truth in her words. “Just wondering if that means I’m technically lower in the food chain.” 

A surprised chuckle. “Technically, yes. But I’d never eat you, at least not in a way you wouldn’t enjoy.”

Jaina coughed, thumping a hand against her chest to clear her throat. She really hadn’t…expected that. 

“That’s... comforting to know.” She eventually huffed, still floundering for something appropriate to say. 

Sylvanas merely shrugged innocently in response. 

“And... favorite drink?” Jaina ventured, wincing even as she said it. 

“Black coffee...” 

“Oh!” She exclaimed, pleasantly surprised.

“….with enough added sugar to upset the auction house market value.” 

The human couldn’t help the ungainly snort of laughter in response to that, followed by a strange desire to be the one to find out just exactly how to make Sylvanas that perfect cup. 

Jaina knew a lot of things about Sylvanas and yet it felt like discovering her anew. For one, she’d learned that she was afraid of heights, just not the real reason why. She’d known that Sylvanas liked to ride upon the back of a horse, just not that she lamented at never being able to sit astride a living steed again. She’d heard Sylvanas call her _Little Star_ many times, yet it stole her breath to hear it aloud in her own melodic language. 

Oh but she wanted to learn more, everything, if Sylvanas allowed it. 

Did she miss her sisters as much as Vereesa missed her? 

Did she sometimes wish that the battle for Darkshore had gone differently, that Teldrassil had never been allowed to fall?

But those were serious questions, uncomfortable questions, questions for another time where perhaps things were a little less raw, a little less exciting and yet terrifying at the same time. Now was the time for the two to hold one another, to bathe in the fact that despite it all, they had made it- that the damned Gnomes were geniuses and they were no longer alone. 

“So what do you think? Should we drop our duties and just sail away?” Jaina softly teased and Sylvanas grinned lazily up at her. 

_What a beautiful smile._ Jaina’s breath caught in her throat. 

“Tempting, but alas it will have to wait. After endless treaty talks and talking down the angry masses.” Sylvanas huffed, her cold breath tickling Jaina’s face. “And here was me thinking you’d be the sensible one in our relationship.”

“But think how much fun we could have in Pandaria.” Jaina whined and Sylvanas chuffed out an agreeable laugh. 

“Hmmm, perhaps too much fun.” She husked, eyes dark and Jaina swallowed as that long, sleek body of hers stretched out languidly over the covers, an inviting, yet disarmingly anxious and vulnerable expression on her face that Jaina vowed she would one day erase. That one day Sylvanas would be full of sly winks and coy smiles but never insecurity. 

One day. 

For now she could only lean back and let Sylvanas claim her in yet another dizzying kiss. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations: 
> 
> Kim’dal = Little Star  
> Anar’alah = By the Light  
> Eranu’aran = I’m gay (ok, ok i made this one up)
> 
> The blue flower that Katherine described was Akundas Bite if anyone was wondering. Also fuck that quest for the amount of times I fucked up and shocked myself picking it. 
> 
> I might write some form of comical epilogue, one with Vereesa absolutely doing backflips. Maybe. Either way, thanks always for reading <3

**Author's Note:**

> Sylvanas, honey do you not know the first rule of online dating: meet on neutral ground.


End file.
